


i came to love you (me)

by haipollai



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Friendship, M/M, Panic Attacks, Self Confidence Issues, Sticking Up for friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-13
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-17 15:39:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3534869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haipollai/pseuds/haipollai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 times someone stood up for jack Zimmermann and 1 time he stood up for himself</p>
            </blockquote>





	i came to love you (me)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to defcontwo for reading this over and caughtinanocean for the idea and lanyon for suggestions for scenarios <3

Kent chews nervously on his glove. Something's wrong with his liney but he has no idea what, or how to ask. Kent was pissed when the coaches decided the team needed Jack Zimmermann to cement a win in their league. Kent leading the charge should have been more than good enough.

Having him here though, Kent's had to admit they were right. Kent's played his best games of the season with Jack there. And Jack is fun to be around, he knows all the best chirps in English and French and crushes the guys on the other teams.

But right now somethings wrong. Jack is hiding in the equipment room, head in his hands and breathing like he just came off a triple shift.

The coach is the one who finds him when he realizes Jack hasn't shown up for warmups. Kent knows that look in his eyes, it's the one right before 'sorry son'. This game is for the semifinals, there's no way Kent is letting his linemate be a scratch.

He grabs coach's arm. "It'll be ok, he'll be ok, promise."

"Sorry Kenny-"

"I'll talk to him, it'll be cool you'll see. Probably just nerves or homesickness. Remember Paulie last year? All the time, always crying like a girl."

Coach sighs. "Fine, fine."

Kent runs in before coach changes his mind and flops down beside Jack. "Come on bro. Don't let me down like this."

"Sorry."

"Don't get Canadian on me either. You better mean that sorry."

There's a long silence and then Jack leans into him. Kent drapes his arm over Jack's shoulders since that's more comfortable. "Sorry," he says again and Kent knows he's dragging out the accent. Jack's taller than him so it can't be comfortable to be bent over to fit against Kent but he's not moving either.

"Coach is gonna scratch you, made him hold off so you better appreciate me Zimms."

Jack's eyes get wide but he nods and seems to be better. He hurriedly wipes at his eyes. "Thanks, really."

"Yea, you're welcome. We should..." They're really close and when Jack picks up his head their noses touch. “We should get going. Show Coach you’re right.”

Kent practically jumps to his feet. “Yea, come on, let’s go.”

Jack rubs one last time at his eyes and Kent doesn’t comment on the slight tremble in Jack’s hands. It’ll be ok, Kent will make sure of it.

\---

Shitty has no idea what to expect when he finds out he's going to be playing alongside Jack Zimmermann at Samwell. He didn't even know the guy still played hockey. After all the news from a year ago, hockey seemed like the very last thing he should be doing.

But there he is, day one of practice. He looks comfortable enough on his skates so Shitty figures he at least hasn't been slacking the past year.

And he's really good. 

Some of the upperclassmen get pissed. Shitty designates himself Jack's friend because he knows no one else on the team probably will be and Jack definitely doesn't help himself by being so quiet. Its definitely not cockiness when the kid stammers over a compliment like nice shirt but no one else is bothering to figure that out.

(Looking back, Shitty will realize it probably wasn't an accident that Jack missed initiation.)

It comes to a head pretty quickly which isn't that surprising, Shitty has brothers, he knows what arrogance and testosterone in high quantities leads to. 

The kegster is loud in a chaotic way until suddenly it's loud in an angry, dangerous way. Shitty was having a good time though he could easily throw a more epic kegster than this. That doesn't mean he wants to ruin the whole night but he doesn't want to sit around while it goes to shit either.

"Jack Zimmermann thinks he's too good for us!" Someone's voice cuts through the noise. "Won't take a drink offered by a friend! What think I'd go through the effort of roofying you?"

Shitty pushes his way through the crowd to find one of the d-men who everyone knows how to deke around has crowded Jack against the wall. The guy looks on the edge of a panic attack and Shitty is not one to leave a guy in trouble. "Hey!" He gets himself between the two of them and shoves the d-man away. "No means no."

"You snooty freshman-"

Shitty pulls himself up to his full height. He barely even fights on the ice but he has brothers, he knows how to throw a punch. The guy must have had a lot already cause he goes down easy. Shitty grabs Jack by the elbow and firmly pulls him out of the Haus before people get their heads out of their asses.

"You shouldn't have," Jack says as soon as he's outside.

"Eh, been wanting to do that for kind of a while actually."

"They're going to destroy you next practice."

"How bad would it have been for you if they'd poured beer down your throat?" Jack goes silent and stares down at his feet as they walk. Shitty can only handle the moodiness for so long before he throws an arm over Jack's shoulders. "We're lineys man, not gonna leave you to some asshole."

To his surprise Jack smiles, it's small but lights up his whole face. "Thanks."

\---

Jack goes down hard, he doesn't even have the puck and the asshole UND forward just plows into him. Ransom sees red and goes at the guy, not wasting any time to drop the gloves. He's not really a fighter, but he's not going to let someone think they can get away with a move like that, especially on one of the team's best players.

Jack is up on his feet when Ransom is pulled back. There's some comfort in that, but there's no denying the lingering fear it could have been worse. A bad twist to his knee and he'd be out for the game if not longer.

Ransom gets sent off for the rest of the period but the other kid gets completely ejected so he's pretty satisfied.

Until Jack comes into the locker room at the end of the period and glares at him. "That was stupid."

"Letting the guy get away with it would have been worse!" He immediately protests.

Holster flops down beside him on the bench. "Would you stand up for my honor like that?"

"I don't-" Jack says but Ransom ignores him. No one scored on them while Ransom was taking an early break, they're still up by two. There's no reason to worry or be anxious, they're going to destroy this game no matter who Ransom fights.

"Holster," he says as seriously as he can. "Holster you are my best bro, but everyone knows you don't have any honor. Not like precious Jack."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jack sounds like he might throw a puck at him. The burst of emotion startles Ransom, luckily Holster’s able to keep up. Shitty is in his stall next to Jack looking like he's trying desperately not to laugh.

"This is a good point." Holster is still wearing his gloves so his attempt at cupping Ransoms face turns more into an awkward squeeze. "I wish you the best on this noble endeavor."

"You're both morons." But he sounds less heated and when Ransom gets his head free he can see Shitty has yanked him down at his locker to take an actual break between periods.

"Dude, everyone knows you're big and tough, but we're still gonna look after you." He gives Jack a glare. "Part of being teammates."

Holster throws a glove at Jack. "Got it, Jack?"

Jack gives his best exasperated sigh. "Yea, ok." He still shoves Holster's glove into his own locker, getting an indignant squeak right in Ransom's ear. Jack refuses to give it back for the rest of intermission.

\---

Kent shows up again when the Aces are in Boston to take on the Bruins. There's no Epikegster. The season is two weeks over and the Haus has new silverware decorating the living room. It's like a switch had been flipped as soon as they made it through the final, Jack is more relaxed, everyone is able to spend more time hanging out but at the same time they all know this is it, the end of an era. Everything becomes group activities after that, even trying to study for finals. Holding onto the team for as long as they can.

Chowder likes it, he'd been the starting goalie for most of the season but now they're more like friends. His tongue stops twisting up whenever he tries to say hi to Jack. Not that he can handle a long conversation without hyperventilating yet.

Just getting Jack's help with an essay for sociology feels like running a marathon.

He's focused on Jack though when Lardo leads Kent into the room. Most of the guys get up to say hi but Chowder is looking at Jack and it's impossible to miss how he tenses. His smile was small before but it was there and now it's gone. 

"Hey Jack, need some help in the kitchen," Bitty says. Chowder feels a flash of relief that he hasn't stumbled on some deep dark secret no one else knows, he couldn't handle that.

"Coming," Jack says quickly, getting to his feet to follow Bitty out of the living room.

"Zimms!" Kent says. "Hey man, wanted to talk to you." He reaches through the team to grab Jack.

"This really isn't-"

"Aw come on." The guys are trickling back to the couches, Chowder isn't sure if anyone else sees the desperate look Jack shoots at Bitty. "Just one second, all I need." He's already pulling Jack towards the stairs.

"Why don't you stop?" Chowder says without thinking and really hopes he doesn't squeak when everyone is suddenly looking at him.

"What."

Its like being on the ice during a shootout. Everyone might think of him as a wuss otherwise but this is just like being on the ice. "We're sort of in the middle of stuff and you're the one interrupting."

Jack's eyes are wide and he's staring right at Chowder, he really hopes he hasn't completely misread this.

Kent sneers at him. It ruins the pretty boy image, the one the Aces love to sell. He's just a guy on another team who thinks he can score on Chowder's team. "Come on Jack, can't a guy just tell you privately how much he wants to play with you again? You're going to let your kid goalie talk for you?"

" _My_ goalie," there's no missing the emphasis on the word my and Chowder feels his cheeks flush. "Broke your goalie's NCAA shutout record."

"You want to fucking play that game Zimms? You're fucking lost here, don't even get why the Aces are so desperate for you."

"Don't insult our captain," Chowder says. "He's better than you are."

Bitty clasps his hand over his mouth but he at least looks pleased, Chowder can't read Jack's face at all. "You should go," Jack says. Kent looks like he's going to protest but twists away sharply to storm out.

Chowder slumps to the ground, burying his head in his hands. He can't believe he just did that, He just insulted Kent Parsons. He thinks he really might throw up.

A hand squeezes the back of his neck. "Thanks Chowder," Jack says softly. It's enough for him to get his breathing back under control.

\----

 

The first game back becomes a Big Deal. Everyone wants to see if he can handle the pressure, most are probably waiting to see him have an on ice breakdown.

TSN has even asked Bob to talk before puck drop. He's done pregame shows before but he'd rather stay in the locker room. Jack finally insists he please go away. Bob ruffles his hair as he gets up. " _Dad_."

"See you later. Good luck." He switches to French though he a fairly sure at least two of Jack's new teammates speak it, it feels more private. He drops his hand to the nape of Jack’s neck and squeezes lightly. “Proud of you.”

Jack blushes but doesn’t argue like he would have once. Bob takes it as a win.

-

Jack has his head pillowed on Bitty's stomach, still slightly buzzed from the win but exhaustion is starting to catch up to him. His parents had insisted they go out for a late dinner and it had turned into a team thing. 

"Are you staying?" He asks. Bitty's hands are in his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp.

"Of course." Bitty bends down to kiss his forehead. "You need to see something."

"Bitty-" He yawns pointedly but Bitty arranges his laptop on the bed so Jack can see the screen. He recognizes the pre-game show and the only thing keeping Jack from just shutting the screen is knowing Bitty isn't going to show him anything bad.

Bitty hits play and the first few seconds are meaningless fluff but then his dad comes on. He tries to focus on Bitty's hand to avoid panicking. He knew his dad was going to be interviewed but nothing had been said about it so Jack had let himself forget.

"This is going to be your son's first real professional game," the commentator says. "Are you worried?"

Bob shrugs. "Worried for what? I've always known my son can play at any level he wants."

That was clearly not the expected answer because there's a longer beat before the next question. "Last time Jack was in such a high stress position, it didn't go well."

Bob nods and leans forward to look directly at the camera. "My biggest regret is me and his mother put Jack in a position where he thought he couldn't talk to us. I hope anyone listening to this learns from our mistakes."

Jack feels choked up, he's heard his dad say these things before but this is on national television.

On screen, Bob leans back in his seat.

"But as a hockey player would you really want to play with a guy like that?" One of the other guys asks, determined to get something controversial from Bob.

"You mean a player who's been breaking records since he was fifteen and is also somehow one of the most unselfish players I've seen?" He chuckles and gives a small shake of his head. "I know I'm biased, but I can't think of anyone better to have centering you." He puffs up as he talks, looking incredibly proud.

Jack twists around to bury himself against Bitty's stomach. It's too much and it's all on the record, Bad Bob Zimmermann telling everyone how proud he is of his son.

Bitty lets him cling.

\---

Jack is sitting in the Bittle's kitchen, hands twisted tight in his lap. He had been so sure that surprising Bitty would be a good idea and now he's here.

Bitty had been out at the store. He should have thought this out better.

Coach Bittle joins him in the kitchen, he looks about as comfortable as Jack. Or maybe he's just never in his own kitchen, leaving it to his wife and family. Jack bites back the thought, he won't disparage Bitty's dad. Though Jack has his own feelings on what kind of dad he really has been, Bitty still loves him.

"So," Coach says. "Good to see you're friends with my boy." Jack blinks, feeling like he missed a step. "He needs someone like you. Well," his eyes narrow and Jack feels his shoulders knot. "Assuming you're still clean and all."

Jack's on his feet before his brain catches up. He's used to his fuck up being thrown around but this feels like too much. Not here, not with Bitty. 

Coach Bittle isn't small, though Jack is taller and he's pretty sure he wouldn't hit Bitty's dad. Bitty’s dad has that look in his eye though that guys get on the ice when they’re looking to pick a fight.

"I'm here to see Bitty," he says, trying to keep his voice flat. He takes a deep breath and makes himself sit back down. It’s harder to convince himself that he is being the better man but he does it for Bitty’s sake.

"I'm not an idiot, I know...what kind of person my son is. I might not like it but he's my only son and some high flying superstar isn't going to hurt him."

Jack stares, not sure how he can respond without breaking Bitty's trust in him. He’s not going to tell Coach Bittle that he’s dating his son or even that Bitty’s gay without Bitty at least there. Coach looms over him.

“I’ll make sure Eric is safe, understood?”

Jack looks up at him, he’s been stared down by bigger and tougher guys for most of his life. Coach Bittle is different because he’s Bitty’s dad but Jack is too familiar with posturing to be intimidated.

"Coach..."

Somehow it's not surprising that Bitty chose now to walk in. Jack hates the feeling of relief that fills him, he doesn't need to be saved. He gets to his feet again and can hear Bitty moving closer. “I’m looking out for Bitty,” Jack says, not back away just yet. He doesn’t say he’s doing better than Coach Bittle seems to be. “I don’t need to prove myself to you.” It feels good to say, and he feels like he can hold his head a little higher when he turns to Bitty. “Surprise.”

Bitty’s eyes are wide and for a second he doesn’t react but then he takes a step closer to Jack. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“You saw me three days ago.”

Jack shrugs. “I missed you.” Jack knows he’s usually good at making things complicated, overthinking and overanalyzing but this is simple. Being with Bitty has always been simple once he stopped being scared of it.


End file.
